Calif. Officer Wounded, Police Search for Shooter

LONGBEACH, Calif. (AP) — A Long Beach police anti-gang detective was shot and wounded as he drove in a squad car with another officer, police said Sunday.

Some 60 to 70 officers spread out in the MacArthur Park area early Sunday and were searching for an unknown number of suspects who fled in a car, spokesman Sgt. Rico Fernandez said.

Two officers were driving at about 11 p.m. Saturday near Anaheim Street and Gundry Avenue when a gunman opened fire, hitting a detective in the upper body, Fernandez told The Associated Press.

A patrol officer who happened to be nearby heard the shots and saw the suspects, Fernandez said. The officer fired at the suspects as the fled, he said, but it was unclear whether any was hit.

Fernandez said police weren’t certain how many suspects there were, saying the investigation continued.

The detective, who wasn’t further identified, was hospitalized in stable condition, Fernandez said.

The shooting comes less than three months after a Southern California police officer was fatally wounded. Riverside Officer Ryan Bonaminio was shot in an ambush Nov. 7. A suspect has been charged with murder in his death.